RE: For all who fly rc using video...

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RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/13/2003 11:10:30 PM

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From: Canyon Country, CA, USA
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Servocity.com sells some parts to join two Hitec servos together for a pan/tilt platform. I have it but havent used it yet due to vibration worries so mine just pans for now. Im using one of the variable slider switches on my Futaba 9C for the pan effect. All the way up is forward, all the way down is rearward and center is looking straight out along the wing.
My KSA videos show it working. That two camera setup is very interesting but I am still getting the bugs out of using ONE camera. Might add a second camera facing downwards or mounted on a servo for forward/downward axis.
Hmmmmm.

quote:

ORIGINAL: skrag

That's the approach I take too Fubar-One. I use the Firewire port on my Sony Cam and the laptop. I do have a Dazzle that I have converted some older VHS tapes with, but BY FAR the best image quality, and ease of use falls to the Firewire stuff.

I am intrigued by this dual cam, double switching thing. I thought I had just about done it all when I sent my first camera up, now I want to try 2. I wish there was some kind of x,y,z axis R/C swivel mount I could put those on and use the complete throw of a stick on a transmitter to make the camera look up, down, left, right, whatever! Now that would be cool. I don't know where I would get the extra stick or time to use it though. I guess a friend with a separate transmitter and setup like that might work. This is starting to sound like to much work! I think I'll maybe just stop a the two camera deal!

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RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/13/2003 11:50:03 PM

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From: West Coast, CA, USA
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quote:

Sweet! I gotta have one of those... ok, so how 'bout the details?

The cameras were Panasonic CX161's. I am not sure how much power Yb2normal was using, but it was from BlackwidowAV.com. I suspect it was 200mW {of real RF power} or less.

The two camera video switch uses electronic switching for glitchless camera selection. No servos are involved; instead it uses a Maxim video mux IC and PIC based R/C decoder. It was a private design presented a few months ago on the RC-CAM forum site.

RC-CAM

(in reply to skrag)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/14/2003 2:34:29 AM

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Hmmm.
Looks to be a project that is over my head. For now.

quote:

ORIGINAL: mr.rc-cam-RCU

quote:

Sweet! I gotta have one of those... ok, so how 'bout the details?
The cameras were Panasonic CX161's. I am not sure how much power Yb2normal was using, but it was from BlackwidowAV.com. I suspect it was 200mW {of real RF power} or less.

The two camera video switch uses electronic switching for glitchless camera selection. No servos are involved; instead it uses a Maxim video mux IC and PIC based R/C decoder. It was a private design presented a few months ago on the RC-CAM forum site.

RC-CAM

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RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/16/2003 6:33:38 PM

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From: Broomfield, CO,
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quote:

Sweet! I gotta have one of those... ok, so how 'bout the details? What kind of camera(s) 200mw pinhole?, 800mw?, what's the scoop on the switch? You video is very stable. I need a more powerful camera than that 200mw jobbie I have now.

Hey Skrag, I'm glad you like my video!

As eluded to by RC-CAM, the video transmitter puts out 200mw of *RF* power. Most of the units you see for sale on ebay are, unfortunately, quoting the power drawn from the battery, so a system quoted as being 200mw is actually putting out 1-10mw of RF power.

It is unfortunate that there is an inconsistency in how different vendors report "power" and it tends to lead people to believe that you need 800mw of RF power to get good results. The popular Spylinker 800mw unit is actually putting out closer to 100-200mw of power. The truth is that with properly selected antennas, a system that puts out 100mw of RF power will do just fine for the vast majority of people.

Fortunately, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence presented on the different RC forums to allow you to make an informed choice, so watch the videos posted by your fellow RCers and judge from that!

Regards,
Bill

< Message edited by yb2normal -- 10/16/2003 6:36:57 PM >

(in reply to skrag)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/19/2003 7:25:41 PM

skrag

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From: Greenbrier, AR, USA
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Thanks for the info Bill. I will check into the power issue a little more. As for antenna's has anybody messed with either changing those cheapie camera antenna's to get a more stable picture, or can someone post what they think is the best approach to nailing down good solid video capture from ground to air? And what about the receiver? Is that where the most gain can be made in influencing the video, or is it a combo of changing aerial antenna, and receiver? I am just probing for info on how to tinker with to make things better.

Bill B.

(in reply to yb2normal)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/19/2003 9:24:19 PM

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From: Canyon Country, CA, USA
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Easiest rx tinker you can do is mount that sucker on a length of PVC pipe, the higher you can, the better.
For my 900mhz system I am looking into a closed loop yagi antenna tho it costs 200 bones.
When I get a 2.4ghz system I will check into making one of those GPP patch antennas.

quote:

ORIGINAL: skrag

Thanks for the info Bill. I will check into the power issue a little more. As for antenna's has anybody messed with either changing those cheapie camera antenna's to get a more stable picture, or can someone post what they think is the best approach to nailing down good solid video capture from ground to air? And what about the receiver? Is that where the most gain can be made in influencing the video, or is it a combo of changing aerial antenna, and receiver? I am just probing for info on how to tinker with to make things better.

Bill B.

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RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/19/2003 11:38:10 PM

W4UAV

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From: Gainesville, FL, USA
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Dan,

Check the beamwidth on the yagi antenna first. It may be really narrow, especially the more directors it has on the boom. If I had my choice, Id get
this patch antenna from Hyperlinktech:

http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/hg908p.php

Its for 900 mhz and you can get a customized connector (SMA MALE)
and its got a 65deg. Vertical and 75deg. Horizontal beamwidth!!!

For $55, its a great deal!

Im using the 2.4ghz version and it works wonderful!!!!

< Message edited by KE4UVQ -- 10/19/2003 11:40:47 PM >

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W4UAV

(in reply to ebeygin)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/21/2003 1:29:31 AM

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From: Canyon Country, CA, USA
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My dad ( MUCH more knowledgeable than me) says its a closed loop yagi so would be perfect for us. We figure we will have to aim it, of course. If its small enough, I might do the helmantenna bit and mount that sucker on a hard hat.
The problem with a patch antenna is that we fly on a pretty small field and are frequently almost directly over the antenna on the rx and that is where we get the signal dropouts. Im just disgusted that the system that cost us 7 times what the spylinker system costs performs poorer. Much better picture but the reception we are getting kinda bites.
Might get one of those patch antennas for slope flying tho!

quote:

ORIGINAL: KE4UVQ

Dan,

Check the beamwidth on the yagi antenna first. It may be really narrow, especially the more directors it has on the boom. If I had my choice, Id get
this patch antenna from Hyperlinktech:

http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/hg908p.php

Its for 900 mhz and you can get a customized connector (SMA MALE)
and its got a 65deg. Vertical and 75deg. Horizontal beamwidth!!!

For $55, its a great deal!

Im using the 2.4ghz version and it works wonderful!!!!

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RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/21/2003 12:02:53 PM

W4UAV

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From: Gainesville, FL, USA
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Ive seen the closed-loop yagi antennas, but Ive never seen the radiation pattern
of a typical one, but I would imagine the longer the boom, the smaller the pattern.
Mounting on a hard hat sounds like a great idea!

I had my first case of Adjacent Channel Interference on 2.4ghz on SAT. The guys from the Univ. of Florida Micro Air Vehicle project were out there with us and running their video on Channel 2, I was on Channel 1, every now and again on my cloud dancing video, you can see a glimpse of their video cutting in. I switched to Channel 4 and fixed that!! I think their little MAV plane was flying in between the LT-40 and the patch antenna.

What was cool was all I had to do is switch to Channel 2 to receive their video. At one point one of them came down and said I was getting better reception than they were. They have an array patch but it was mounted in the lid of a Pelican case, the lid stayed open, therefore pointed at the ground! Some minor lid closing fixed their problem!

_____________________________

Mike Robinett
W4UAV

(in reply to ebeygin)

OSD! - 10/22/2003 2:29:08 AM

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Joined: 2/16/2002
From: Monterey, TN, USA
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My SU27, under construction, is crying out for an OSD!!. How far is this from becoming a reality-you know, I send $ and you send a 'plug and play' unit?

(in reply to ebeygin)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/22/2003 7:52:26 AM

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Joined: 7/20/2003
From: melbourne, AUSTRALIA
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i have heli and i want to put a small camera on it as everybody does.
I've fond one at http://www.revolutionshop.com/ (bottom left of page) but i need an expert opinion or possibly information on wher to buy a better one. I have a small budget and live in australia so shipping could be costly.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
-Josh

(in reply to ebeygin)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/24/2003 11:39:35 PM

skrag

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Joined: 8/16/2003
From: Greenbrier, AR, USA
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Well, that is the same camera that you can find all over ebay for anywhere from $30 to $50 US. So if that comes our about the same AU then that's about right. Almost all of those wireless pinhole cams on ebay are advertised ad 200mw, etc. I have been doing a search on ebay for 800mw wireless cameras, and there are some pretty good deals on those to, but as some of the previous posts have stated, this may not necessarily translate into better performance.

I broke my little pinhole cam and have been looking for a way to buy JUST the camera, and NOT the whole receiver, etc., (200mw jobbie I have) but have not been able to find a source. I'm cheap and just hate to have a worthless receiver lying around, so didn't want to just break down and buy a whole new unit.

If anybody has any sources on that, I would appreciate it.

Bill B.

(in reply to engwerda)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/26/2003 7:15:35 AM

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thanks a lot skrag!

(in reply to skrag)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/26/2003 3:14:02 PM

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Joined: 10/26/2003
From: Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM
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I fly a small park flyer(GWS Tiger moth). I want to have a wireless camera onboard and fly using the video. Where should i start and what should i buy.
I came across lots of stuff on the internet(2.4 GHz, 100 mw etc).
Is it possible to fly using video. What will be the range. Is it possible to use a digital camcorder with the receiver.???

(in reply to Fubar-One)

RE: For all who fly rc using video... - 10/26/2003 4:58:37 PM

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From: Canyon Country, CA, USA
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Try BlackwidowAV.com for the 2.4ghz equipment. You can also purchase an all-in-one 200mw "spycam" from Spylinker (Search by seller on Ebay for Spylinker) that claims to put out 200mw. It is very cheap but operates on 1.2ghz which is illegal, however so keep that in mind.
It is possible to fly by video but not easy, especially using a system that a Tiger Moth MIGHT be able to carry. Not sure if a Tiger Moth can actually lift one of these.
Range is hard to calculate due to many factors but several hundred feet should be doable.
I use a Sony TRV-120 Digital 8 camera to record all my airborne video but my Father uses a Sony Hi-8 for his. You just need to be able to record thru the analog AV port. Check my website for video examples and check the Video Links page for other RC fliers results!

quote:

ORIGINAL: trance20

I fly a small park flyer(GWS Tiger moth). I want to have a wireless camera onboard and fly using the video. Where should i start and what should i buy.
I came across lots of stuff on the internet(2.4 GHz, 100 mw etc).
Is it possible to fly using video. What will be the range. Is it possible to use a digital camcorder with the receiver.???

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"B Positive to ground, over..."

(in reply to trance20)